New York’s Metropolitan Opera line-up

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2014/15 season which opens on September 22 with a new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine features many Askonas Holt artists. In Figaro, American mezzo Isabel Leonard will sing Cherubino alongside Greg Fedderly and Alan Oke as Don Basilio. In the December performances, American soprano Rachel Willis-Sorensen will make her unexpected Met debut as the Countess.

Tenor Stephen Costello returns to the Met to sing Alfredo in La traviata for the first time on their stage and later in the season will perform Camille in the new production of The Merry Widow opposite veteran Sir Thomas Allen as Baron Mirko Zeta. Russian bass Mikhail Petrenko will return for the title role in the new production of Bluebeard’s Castle conducted by Valery Gergiev. Oksana Volkova sings Sonyetka alongside up and coming Russian bass Dmitri Belosselskiy as Old Convict in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk; Dmitri also appears as Ramfis in Aida and returns later in the season to take on the role of Silva in Verdi’s Ernani under the baton of Maestro Levine.

Following on from his success as Count Anckarström in the new production of Un ballo in maschera in 2012/13, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky returns for the revival next season. Mezzo Isabel Leonard, baritone Christopher Maltman and bass Paata Burchuladze will return to the Met to sing Rosina, Figaro and Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia respectively.

Zeffirelli’s classic production of La bohème returns to the Met and this time features Askonas Holt artists Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi, Susanna Phillips as Musetta and basses David Soar and Matthew Rose sharing the role of Colline. American soprano Ailyn Pérez makes her Metropolitan Opera debut as Micaela in Carmen joined by celebrated Latvian mezzo soprano Elina Garanca in the title role. AH conductor Louis Langrée is on the podium for the Bizet opera.

Mezzo soprano Christine Rice makes her debut as Hansel in Richard Jones’ production of Hansel and Gretel. Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann makes a return to the Met stage with Karine Deshayes as Nicklausse, Susanna Phillips as Antonia and Christine Rice in her second appearance in this season as Giulietta with Yves Abel on the podium. Nicholas Hytner’s production of Don Carlo returns with Simon Keenlyside as Posa and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni will see the Met debut of Czech bass baritone Adam Plachetka joined by bass Luca Pisaroni as Leporello. Following on from her success at La Scala in the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, soprano Albina Shagimuratova sings the role for the first time at the Met in 2014/15. Adrian Noble’s classic production of Verdi’s Macbeth will be revived to feature Anna Netrebko’s role debut as Lady Macbeth. As well as Colline, Matthew Rose will also sing the role of the Nightwatchman in Die Meistersinger conducted by James Levine. Bass Brindley Sherratt makes his Met debut as Trulove. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte returns with Miah Persson as Pamina, Toby Spence as Tamino and Markus Werba as Papageno.